Mazuz Yarden, Hadad Bat-Sheva, Ganel Tzvi
Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Department of Special Education and the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Autism Res. 2025 Apr 21. doi: 10.1002/aur.70044.
Altered sensory perception, a core characteristic of autism, has been attributed to attenuated use of stimuli context or prior information in perception. Reduced susceptibility to perceptual illusions was extensively used to support these accounts for autistic perception. However, empirical evidence has been inconsistent. The current study systematically investigated susceptibility to size illusions in autistic and non-autistic individuals using a standardized psychophysical battery. Eighty-one participants, 41 autistic and 40 non-autistic individuals, completed the Ben-Gurion University Test for Perceptual Illusions (BTPI), measuring susceptibility to the Ponzo, Ebbinghaus, and Height-width illusions. The results demonstrate clear evidence for susceptibility to illusions in the perception of size both in the autistic and non-autistic groups. No significant differences were found between groups in the magnitude of illusion on the perceived size, or on the perceptual resolutions of size (discrimination thresholds) in any of the illusory settings tested. The results challenge current theories suggesting reduced reliance on priors or enhanced sensory measurement in autism. Instead, using robust psychophysical methods, the study provides clear evidence for autistic people forming priors and using long-term knowledge in perception.
感觉知觉改变是自闭症的一个核心特征，这被归因于在感知过程中对刺激背景或先验信息的使用减弱。对感知错觉的易感性降低被广泛用于支持这些关于自闭症感知的观点。然而，实证证据并不一致。当前的研究使用标准化的心理物理学测试组，系统地调查了自闭症个体和非自闭症个体对大小错觉的易感性。81名参与者，41名自闭症个体和40名非自闭症个体，完成了本古里安大学感知错觉测试（BTPI），该测试测量了对庞佐错觉、艾宾浩斯错觉和高度-宽度错觉的易感性。结果表明，在自闭症组和非自闭症组中，在大小感知方面都有明显的错觉易感性证据。在任何测试的错觉情境中，两组在感知大小的错觉程度或大小的感知分辨率（辨别阈值）上均未发现显著差异。这些结果挑战了当前认为自闭症患者减少对先验信息的依赖或增强感觉测量的理论。相反，通过使用可靠的心理物理学方法，该研究为自闭症患者在感知过程中形成先验信息并使用长期知识提供了明确的证据。
